October 24-November 7, 2017

With the promise of warm, fresh baked goods, we wake early and walk into downtown Paducah to Kirchhoff’s Bakery before leaving town.  We are not disappointed!  We shove off and quickly make the turn onto the Ohio River.  We were warned about the increased current we would be traveling against, and right away we felt it.  Our speed slowed considerably, but we were still making good progress.  Suddenly we hear lots of commotion on the VHF…we’ve lost our engine…I have no power…time to wake the Captain, son!  That doesn’t sound good, but we can’t tell where this is taking place.  Is it behind us or in front of us?  We come around a bend in the curvy Cumberland, and quickly see the situation in front of us.  A tow boat lost power, and its’ barges started to drift across the river, blocking our path.  We hang back to decide our next move.  Luckily two other tow boats that were working down the river came to the rescue and were able to push the barges to the side of the river, and we were able to navigate by.

We finally get to the Barkley Lock and Dam, and are eventually locked through this 57 foot lock.  Darkness has set in, and we have to navigate to Green Turtle Bay Marina in the dark.  Luckily friends guided us to our slip with flashlights, what a help!  We meet up with the other Loopers and decompress over dinner and drinks at the yacht club.  We plan to spend a few days in Grand Rivers, KY, so we settle in and relax a bit.  We make sure we visit Patti’s for dinner, as we have heard about their famous pork chops.  We are not disappointed, the food was delicious!

While in Grand Rivers, KY, we’ve reached a milestone.  We’re now one month into our trip.  Here’s a map to show how far we’ve come!

After a rain delay, we set out on a side trip further down the Cumberland River to Nashville, TN.  Many other Loopers rented a car and drove, but we wanted to do it by boat.  It was a three day trip there, and we got to see the beautiful fall colors of Kentucky and Tennessee.  I must say, it’s not the same as a Michigan fall, but it was beautiful nonetheless.  Our first night we had planned to anchor, but with temperatures dipping into the low thirties, I decide to seek out a marina.  We find a small marina on the charts and call to make sure we can make it in with our 4.5 draft.  We arrive at Bumpus Mills Marina, to find no one is there.  We question if the marina is still in business, as there are some quite abandoned looking boats in the marina, but we tie to the fuel dock and hook up to power to get heat for the night.  I really hoped we didn’t hear banjos in the night!

After an uneventful night, we leave early the next morning and head for Clarksville, TN.  We spend the night in the marina there, and are Nashville bound the next day.  We are treated to see deer swim in front of the boat.  Such beautiful animals!  We finally arrive at our marina, just outside of downtown Nashville.  We settle in and decide to walk to a local brewery for dinner.  TailGate Beer was delicious, and they had so many pumpkin beers on draft!  Have I mentioned I love everything pumpkin yet? J  The next day we Uber in to downtown, and walk the streets of Nashville.  We did an on and off trolley tour, and get to see the Country Music Hall of Fame, Ryman Auditorium, and Music Row.  For all of you American Pickers fans, we even got to see Mike’s Nashville store, Antique Archaeology.  All of the bars and restaurants on Broadway have live country music.

We leave Nashville the next day, and start the three day trip back to Grand Rivers, KY to meet my parents.  They drove down and stayed in a condo at the marina for a few days.  It was great to see them and to visit for a while.  We got to explore Paducah, the Land Between the Lakes National Park, and many of the small towns in the area.  Chad was on a mission for some country ham, and he found some in Cadiz, KY.  We even managed to find a winery!  We took my parents back to Patti’s for an early birthday dinner celebration for my mom.  We all left extremely full!  Despite the rain, we checked out their beautiful Christmas light display.

As my parents headed back to Michigan, Chad and I headed south to Kentucky Lake and the Tennessee River.

October 21-October 24, 2017

Leaving our peaceful anchorage in the Little Diversion Channel, we begin our final stretch on the Mississippi before heading up the Ohio River.

Look at the left hand side of the bottom of the dinghy, that’s the bar I pulled up!

We decided we would anchor just outside the channel in front of the “new” Olmsted Lock and Dam, with permission from the lockmaster.  We will stop here for the night and head out early the next morning to head through a series of three locks and dams (Olmsted, 52, and 53).  The lockmaster directed us to anchor on the Illinois side of the channel, so we analyze the wind, current, and depths and pick a place to drop anchor.  We wait and watch to make sure the anchor is set, and quickly realize it is not.  We traveled today with two other boats, and we notice one seems to be set, but the other is struggling like we are.  We pull the anchor up, and I quickly realize why the anchor didn’t set.  I pulled up a six foot piece of steel with the anchor!  I yell for Chad to come up to the anchor, because I have no idea how I am going to get that off!  I managed to hook the end of the anchor perfectly in a small ring on the top of the bar.  Chad doesn’t believe me at first, and said it’s just a stick.  I insist he comes up front, and when he does, he can’t believe how I did that either!  The lucky part for us also was the long end of the bar was out away from the boat, and did not drag up the boat as I pulled the anchor in!  Chad decides to get in the dinghy to try to pull the bar off the anchor.  I take the helm, and thankfully Chad is able to remove the bar without too much work.

We decide to attempt to reset the anchor, so I drop the anchor again, hoping this time the anchor will hold.  Again we wait and watch, and realize the anchor is still not holding.  We are getting frustrated and notice one of the other boats has moved to the other side of the channel.  We radio the lockmaster and get permission to do the same.  We get ready to pull up the anchor again and gosh darn if I didn’t pull something else up this time!  This time it looked like we were hooked on some thin underwater cable.  Again, Chad believes it to be a stick, and we both can’t believe the luck we are having!  Now, time to get unhooked from the mysterious cable.  I lower the anchor as Chad backs up, and we bring the anchor up again hoping we are free…nope!  Okay, on to Plan B, Chad backs up and the mysterious cable breaks free of the anchor.

We notice the other boats are now on the other side of the channel, and seem to be holding, so we make our way over there and successfully set the anchor this time.  While we are anchoring, I hear the bilge go off.  It keeps going off.  I know this is not good.  Our bilge never goes off, especially since we had a dripless shaft seal installed this summer.  I let Chad know, and he quickly figures out our dripless shaft seal is not only dripping, it is gushing water in.  Not good.  Luckily, a tool kit my dad loaned Chad came to the rescue and stopped the gushing water.  Good enough for now until we can get to the next marina to have a better look and get some wifi to do some investigation.  The anchor is set for the night, and we are very thankful.

The next morning, we wake early so we can make it through the triple set of locks and dams.  The first, the Olmsted Lock and Dam, is not yet completed.  This new lock and dam will replace aging Lock and Dam Number 52 and Lock and Dam Number 53.  According to Wikipedia, the original budget for the new lock and dam was $775 million, but the final cost of the project is already approaching $3 billion, and although the original completion date was set for 1998, more recent projections are 2018!  The delay at Alton we wrote about in Blog 3 was experienced because one of the wickets (a gate in the dam) at Lock and Dam Number 52 was down, literally, and water was gushing through at 15mph.  The Army Corp of Engineers was working hard to have rocks dumped to stop the water flow.  Lock and Dam Number 52 was also closed for eight days in September when the wickets (gates in the dam) were down.  This completely shut down the Ohio River for all commerce, and is a major concern and a good example of America’s aging water infrastructure.

Lock and Dam Number 52

While the Olmstead Lock and Dam is not yet functional, we have to wait for direction from the lockmaster, as we have to take turns to pass through the narrow lock structure while other tow boats come and go as well.  We pass through without much delay and are on to Number 53.  The water is so high due to recent rainfall that the wickets are down, and we literally pass right over the dam structure with guidance from the lockmaster.  What a strange experience to know you are going right over a dam!  The water is so high, the lock is also almost fully underwater.  We finally arrive to the somewhat dreaded Number 52, and without too much delay, we are locked through and on to the new city dock in Paducah, KY for the night.

Loopers at the Paducah, KY dock. We are second from the left. Captain Chad squeezed us in there!

Paducah, KY is one of our favorite small towns we have visited so far.  Our first night, we had dinner at Doe’s with the large group of Loopers.  Chad found a haunted history tour for us to do on a horse drawn carriage, in the rain, at night, just before Halloween.  It was both creepy and cool, and the tour guide was awesome!  We decided to hang around another day to explore the town in daylight.  We spent the day checking out shops, museums, and reading up on the history of the town.  Of course, we even found the Dry Ground Brewing Company for dinner.  The brewery is the site of the former Coca-Cola bottling plant.  From the brewery’s website, “In 1937 the Ohio River flooded Paducah and Luther Carson’s Coca-Cola bottling plant on South 6th street was submerged. Mr. Carson used an empty syrup keg to float out of the second floor window to reach a rescue boat. On the return trip up Broadway, Mr. Carson said, “If I ever reach DRY GROUND, it is there that I will build my new bottling plant.” Plans for construction began immediately following the flood, and in June of 1939 Mr. Carson celebrated the grand opening of his new state-of-the-art facility located 31 blocks from the river upon the DRY GROUND across the street from the Red Cross evacuation site where he had been off-loaded following his rescue.”  We enjoyed the brewery and headed back to the boat.

Tomorrow is a new day, and we will begin our journey on the Cumberland River!

October 8-October 21, 2017

Grafton, Illinois is the self-proclaimed “Keywest of the Midwest.”  We spent several days at Grafton Harbor Marina, enjoying the hot tub and checking out the fun town with many bars, wineries, and cute little antique shops.  The weather was warm and sunny, perfect for checking out wineries!  Our favorite was Aerie’s Winery, since it took us for-ever to walk up a giant hill in 90 degree heat, but we were rewarding with some great drinks and amazing views at the top!  We also found an awesome little store, Knotty By Nature, that had some gorgeous pieces of wood.  Chad found a small piece that he made into a new table for us.  The table that came with the boat is large, and we found we could use the extra space with the three of us living on it.  We also checked out the old haunted Ruebel Hotel.  We were given an impromptu tour, and even got to see the most haunted room, the Captain’s Quarters.  We enjoyed several meals with the company of other Loopers.  We are enjoying camaraderie of this Looper group!  We have found we aren’t the youngest on the Loop, we are in the company of some really cool people in their early twenties all the way to their sixties and seventies, and beyond!

Water rushes past the channel marker, showing the strong current of the river.

We left Grafton and the Illinois River behind, and started down the Mississippi River and headed down to Alton, IL.  We found the current on the Mississippi to be very helpful, though the turbulence at times could be pretty intense.  There was also quite a bit of debris, washed out by the heavy rains y’all were having up North.  By debris I mean trees, tires, you know small things like that.  Captain Chad did an awesome job playing dodge a log on the river, and we only hit a few things submerged below the muddy Mississippi River waters.  Hopefully no harm, no foul, and everything still seems to be working properly!

We were happy to arrive in Alton, IL and even happier to find the Alton Marina also had two hot tubs! Exploring the town, we found Alton was a large city, full of history, ghosts, and murder!  Chad and another Looper, Pat, went on a haunted history tour.  Look for Chad’s special Halloween Edition blog post on his ghost hunt.  Chad and I had planned to do the tour together, but Rilee woke us up with a sore leg.  During the morning she seemed more miserable, so we arranged for a rental call and found a local vet out who take us out-of-towners on a Saturday afternoon.  We were so amazed at the kindness of strangers at the marina.  While I waited out front with Rilee, one local couple offered us to use their truck to get her to the vet.  After X-Rays and an exam, it turns out Rilee’s old knee injury had flared up, and we found out she also has extensive arthritis in that knee.  The vet suggested she would need surgery at some point, but we are able to manage the pain with anti-inflammatory and pain meds.  So while Chad and Pat enjoyed the tour, I doggy-sat Rilee to make sure she was handling the meds ok.

We stayed at Alton a week, trying to wait out repairs on a lock further on the trip on the Ohio River.  While there, we found an organic local brewery, Old Bakery Beer Company.  We loved it so much we filled our growler and even bought some cans to go!  We also had to hit Fast Eddies Bon-Air, a local eatery that is a “must stop” and was featured on The Food Network.  The bar was opened in 1921 by Anheuser Busch as a drinking establishment.  It was sold ten years later, when laws prohibited breweries from owning drinking establishments.  The local band played great music, and we enjoyed the cheap food and fun atmosphere.  We did several historic driving tours of the town, and learned about many of the beautiful homes and their interesting past.  We also learned about Robert Wadlow, Alton’s “Gentle Giant” who grew to be 8 feet, 11.1 inches by the time he was 22 years old!  If you can imagine, he’s even taller than Matt Rogers! 😉

While we had the rental car, we also decided to check out Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville, IL.  These mounds, similar to those we saw in Havana, IL, are believed to be part of a settlement of the Late Woodland Indians.  Constructed around AD 700, the mounds signify ceremonial buildings and residences of the elite.  We were disappointed to find most of the mounds at this site were recreated, as over time, farmers had plowed the surrounding fields and destroyed many of the mounds without understanding what they were.  The largest mound remained untouched though, Monks Mound.  This mound is the largest prehistoric earthen construction in the Americas, containing an estimated 22 million cubic feet of earth, that was all moved by baskets on people’s backs.  It is more than 14 acres, and over 100 feet tall.  We climbed the stairs to the top, and had a beautiful view of downtown St. Louis, MO and the arch!  There are alternate theories on the construction of these mounds, and are apparently covered in an episode of Ancient Aliens.  We still have to check that episode and theory out 😉

Since we were so close, I convinced Chad to drive me to O’Fallon Brewery in Maryland Heights, MO.  O’Fallon has delicious pumpkin beer, and I was SO HAPPY to find they had FIVE pumpkin beers on draft that night!  I of course had to taste them all, and purchase a sampler 12 pack to take with us!  Chad is a good sport supporting my pumpkin addiction every fall.

With the lock repairs finally completed, and Rilee moving around much better, we decided to head on down the river.  We are well stocked with food and water, fuel is filled up, and we are pumped out.  We will be spending the next four nights at anchor, or somewhere with little to no services.  After passing through Mel Price Lock and Dam, we came to the convergence of the Missouri River and Mississippi River.  This created a lot of turbulence and sent the boat all over the river.  Thankfully Captain Chad was at the helm and handled it like a champ.  Soon enough we are at the Chain of Rocks Lock and Dam.  We are having good luck today with getting through locks quickly.  Shortly after, we can see the Arch at St. Louis.  Small at first, it grows larger until we are right in front of it, the sun glistening off the top of the arch.  I remember going to the top as a child, while visiting my mom’s family in St. Louis.  There is nowhere to stop on the river in St. Louis (take a hint St. Louis), so we admire as we cruise by.

There was no question this time where our final destination is for the day.  We had to stop at Hoppie’s Marine Service in Kimmswick, MO.  This was a must stop for several reasons, but most importantly we needed fuel and we needed Fern’s daily river briefing.  Hoppie’s is a bit of a famous stop for Loopers.  Not much of a marina, but the services here are invaluable.  This is the last fuel stop for 107 miles, and the last marina for 227 miles.  Fern and her husband Charles “Hoppie” Hopkins are very knowledgeable about our next stretch of river, and have been guiding Loopers for years.  “Hoppie” may be the last living Mississippi River lamplighter.  The river briefing proved to be as promised.  After dinner in town with several other Loopers we have been traveling with since Alton, we settle in for the night.  It proved to be a rough night, as the wake off of passing barges powering up-river slammed us into the wall we were tied to.  Again, we were thankful for every bumper we had.  Needless to say, no one slept much that night!

Breakfast at the Blue Owl with our new friends Dirk and Pat taking the picture.

The next morning, in serious need of coffee, we went to town to check out the Blue Owl for breakfast.  This is another “must stop” and was also featured on the Food Network as well as the Travel Channel, and we weren’t disappointed!  We couldn’t leave without a giant piece of Levee High Apple Pie!  Stuffed from breakfast, we set off again, heading to the Kaskaskia Lock.  We are not locking through, but we are able to tie up here for the night.  Not much to see or do, but it is a safe place for the night, away from the current of the river and passing tow boats and barges.  We are thankful for a good night’s sleep!

We wake early and push on.  Tonight we will be anchored out near Cape Girardeau, MO.  We find a beautiful anchorage in the Little Diversion Channel.  There is already one sailboat anchored here, and by night’s end, there are six of us nestled into this channel.  We are rafted off of our new friends’ boat, and we wrap up the afternoon learning cribbage, and teaching Pat and Dirk euchre.  We race against the fading daylight to take Rilee to shore for her final potty break for the evening.  We found a beautiful beach the other side of the Mississippi, and Rilee ran around like a puppy, even splashing in the river (which is not like her at all)!  We ended up crossing the Mississippi six times in our dinghy, which was no simple feat, considering the heavy current and debris.  Our 9.9hp propane dinghy motor handled it like a champ, sucking through propane and getting us safely back and forth.

Tomorrow is a new day, and we will leave the muddy Mississippi and begin our journey up the Ohio River.